The Professional Association of German Dermatologists (BVDD) launched the Digi Derma Campus together with dermatology-related companies from the digital industry at a kick-off workshop in Berlin. One of the co-founding members of the initiative, among 10 digital dermatology companies, was the Estonian digital dermatology and teledermoscopy start-up and Connected Health Cluster member Dermtest.
The official press release by BVDD stated that the aim of the cooperation is to overcome gaps in knowledge, hurdles and reservations on both sides and to continuously improve patient care, as stated in a joint memorandum. “With the Digi Derma Campus initiative, the BVDD is putting its digital strategy into practice. The founding of Campus is another result of a systematic study of the potential of telemedicine and digital developments in our field,” explains BVDD President Dr Ralph von Kiedrowski. Milestones of the BVDD digital strategy so far include the publication of the S2k guideline “Teledermatology” developed together with the German Dermatological Society (DDG).
“With the Digi Derma Campus, the BVDD seeks to join forces with Digi-Tech companies, proactively help shape the care of tomorrow and remains true to its pioneering role in the digital transformation of the German healthcare system,”
emphasizes the BVDD special advisor for digital health, Dr Klaus Stromer.
A total of ten Digi-Tech companies accepted the BVDD’s invitation to the new Digi Derma Campus. Eight of the companies are from German-speaking countries, one from Spain and one from Estonia, although with strong ties to the German health system, localized to Germany and established office in Berlin.
Dermtest’s country lead in Germany Dr med Christian Koop stated that such co-operation platforms are highly important in order to seek best ways to implement quality-supporting digital care models in specialty sectors. “For example, the Dermtest teledermoscopy model, that has been implemented in several countries, involves collaboration of dermatologists and GPs to detect skin cancer early. The cross-care-level service model builds on international and in-house research and also follows the helpful S2k guidelines,” added Koop.
The Digi Derma Campus is now creating the framework for further intensive and structured exchange between dermatology and innovative digital players in order to make the care of patients future-proof with the help of sensible digital applications as an important component.
